by: Michael Steffes
Here is some of what I caught from the Mike Holmgren press conference.
To check it out . . .
- Deion Branch is ready to go. Holmgren expects him to resume what he thinks will be a long career. Plenty of receivers have come back from ACL surgery, and his foot is fine, and now the heel is fine. (How long till there is something new?)
- Talking about the Cards, Holmgren heaped praise on the Cardinals' receivers, saying that not only are they good receivers, but they are big and physical, too. Plus, now they have a deep group. He mentioned Breaston's good game on MNF, and said they still have respect for Jerrahme Urban.
- He said it is a credit to the AZ coaching staff that they allowed Kurt Warner to compete from the job. Clearly they took Leinart expecting him to be the QB, but it hasn't worked out. To their credit they have give Warner a chance after many teams dismissed him and it working out great for them.
- Holmgren talked to the players today about when your goals change. The goal is still winning the game Sunday, and he wants them focused on one game at a time. Of course, maybe some of the original goals for the season are going to be difficult to reach. He talked with the team about what he believes the reasons for that are.
- They will not be coaching any differently just because "the sun is starting to set." They are going to go after it like they always do. At some point they may start to think about things with younger players. However, that has nothing to do with the Courtney Taylor move. Taylor has been practicing well and coach thinks he might provide a spark. Later in the year they may try to grab a practice squad player or two from other teams for the future, which is something you can do once you are eliminated.
- Holmgren said that Seneca played better each week and threw with more confidence. Despite the win-loss record, he thinks Seneca did a good job and it is a shame they couldn't pull out the win last week.
- Holmgren talked about the radio equipment this year. He said it has shorted out at times, but gets fixed quickly. He used to think, probably incorrectly, that when you went into certain places it wasn't so much of an accident. But this year it happened at home.
- Coach talked about the return game. He said Forsett is a great story, that they were able to get him back and now he is contributing. He said you could see Josh's ability last year when he took that kick back for a touchdown, but everything they get from Forsett is a pleasant surprise.
- He talked about Matt, and said that if anybody can come back and play after a layoff, Matt can. Coach is going to help him out, and not make it too difficult on him.
- Holmgren is very pleased with Owen Schmitt. Coming in last week after not getting many practice reps is hard. He said he did a good job. He needs to learn that he doesn't always have to run through the wall--sometimes you can take a different approach. Also, Holmgren said he is not crazy about his haircut.
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